Scootaloo desperately wanted something to smash, but there was little likelihood of finding such in their new surroundings. Hatred burned hot enough inside that had it been a flame, she'd have been consumed and ignited the sparse grassland on the east side of the brook that ran out of Ghastly Gorge.
The east was flat and barren, and the west side was covered with a fine sand and rocks. Either bank was as empty as she felt inside. Her raw emotional state was a nightmarish amalgam of extremes. Deep sadness, relief to have survived, shame that she had escaped when her friends were dying, regret that she hadn't been able to help them, and a powerful festering anger that was directed at nothing in particular were all running through her. It was all she could do to keep the blind rage from overpowering her intellect.
The first soldiers to arrive at this location had been thoughtful enough to scout the area and set up a defensive perimeter, but calling the situation grim would have been an affront to the meaning of the word. Of the force that they'd had, barely eighteen thousand had arrived at the fall-back position. Only three-thousand of these were pegasi, and they were already exhausted.
After the battle lines had fallen apart, Scootaloo had joined the evacuation force, and these pegasi had all gone back for more. Now, almost out of food, she couldn't push them to return again. The water source was the one thing that had gone right about this. Sparklefly had chosen this spot wisely.
The real problem that lay in front of her was the lack of a command structure. Everything was falling apart when they evacuated. They had what would pass for about eighteen regiments, but they were actually pieces of no fewer than forty that had fled and become separated in the confusion. In a group this size, they should have no fewer than four division commanders, eighteen regimental colonels, and almost forty majors, to say nothing of the lower ranking officers. As it stood, there was only one commander and eight colonels that were still with their units.
While Scootaloo's rank was technically captain, she had been granted special command rank by joining the Taskforce. Since she and Flittergear were the only two members to make it to this out, it was up to them to decide what to do next. Duster sat nearby with his squad, safe for the moment. They looked as weary as everypony else as the sun began growing lower on the horizon. It would be only an hour before it set.
"First things first," Scootaloo said. "Get me some scouts that are fit to fly. We need to inform Cloudsdale of our situation and request reinforcements and resupply immediately."
Flittergear nodded in agreement. Scootaloo turned to face the canyon that lay directly to her north. The slope was gentle on this end. Entering would be easy, and the steep walls would effectively provide safe sides and a rear. On the down side, canyons are a good place to get trapped, especially with the state of their pegasus teams. Speed, the one advantage they had always maintained, had been taken away for the moment. The only other option she could see was to hoof it and hope they could reach a city before the timberwolves caught them in the open. Given the state of their supplies, this didn't seem likely.
"Next, we need to get a command structure in place," she continued. "For the moment, all ground forces will report to Commander Rain Chaser. Pegasi will report to Colonel Skyflame."
From there, Flittergear and Scootaloo began reorganizing the entire group they had at their disposal. Then a faint ray of hope appeared. They heard them before they saw them; the griffins arrived. A quick estimate put their numbers at no less than five thousand. They all looked a bit worse for the wear, with sour dispositions written on their faces. It wasn't long after they'd landed that their commander stepped forward.
"Who's the leader here?" the ruffled griffin spat out.
"I am," Scootaloo walked toward him, flanked by Flittergear. "Where is Commodore Greyko?"
"Dead, and I hope you're ready to pay for the griffins I lost today," he said hotly. "We came down here to help you, not get butchered when stupid ponies' plans fall apart."
Anger erupted, obscuring rational thought, "Either shut your mouth or keep a civil tone. We’re trying to put our force back together.”
"Are you prepared to back up your insolence?" he yelled, closing the distance between them rather aggressively.
Standing stubbornly in place, Scootaloo replied, "You are picking on the wrong mare on the wrong day."
He stood beak to nose with her now, "We didn't have to come here to help you.
“Back off!”
“You owe us, you filthy nag!”
The rage boiled out of control and Scootaloo let a hoof fly, striking him squarely in the face. The griffin staggered backward in surprise.
"Well, that ought to make us about even," she seethed.
"You'll die for this!" the griffin howled.
In a flash, weapons were being drawn on both sides; Flittergear was instantly in front of Scootaloo, keeping her back, and subordinate officers on both sides were shouting to hold fire in effort to stop the madness.
"Bring it on, you coward!" Scootaloo spoke with burning hatred now focused on the griffin commander as she tried to move forward; she was blocked by Flittergear. "You are outnumbered here four to one!"
A griffin officer spoke quickly and quietly to their leader, but the insult was not to be satisfied so easily. The leader brushed him aside and spoke.
"You are a complete savage. I hope you are ready to accept the consequences of your own stupidity."
Scootaloo tried in vain to get at him again, but there were now several soldiers on both sides that seemed to have nothing on their minds but preventing this meeting.
"We fly for Griffinstone!" the leader of the griffins announced.
Scootaloo was about to speak, but Flittergear silenced her with a hoof over her mouth and softly said, "Let them go."
Frustrated, she bit her tongue and said nothing. The small amount of hope that had been rekindled was snuffed out as the griffins took flight, abandoning the ponies to their fate. Scootaloo let out a sigh as the rage dwindled to a manageable anger. Regret immediately filled the void as she calmed down. She suddenly became aware that everypony was looking to her.
"Well, what are all of you waiting for? We need to get organized."
Everypony got straight to that task. It was a rather laborious process, which they didn’t manage to complete until well after the sun had gone down and left darkness over the land. As no additional forces had arrived at the rendezvous, Scootaloo made her decision.
"Alright, we've waited here long enough. Rain Chaser, Skyflame, get all divisions ready to move. We're heading into the canyon."
"Are you certain that's wise?" Colonel Skyflame asked.
Feeling her position threatened, Scootaloo's anger shot back an answer for her, "I didn't ask for your opinion. I'm in command; that was an order. Do it."
An intense silence followed. The general talking among everypony ceased. The gentle breeze, light as it was, could now be heard. Scootaloo suddenly became incredibly aware that this moment may very well define whether or not she actually were able to stay in command. Colonel Skyflame regarded Scootaloo as if she were working out what her response would be.
"Yes, ma'am," she finally replied.
The tension eased and the soldiers were soon plodding into the canyon. Scootaloo hadn't noticed them at first, but she looked up and noticed that half of the stars were obscured. Clouds were moving in under cover of the darkness. The feeling in the air was a kind of rushing of wind swirling about them. It threatened rain. The stony floor of the canyon was packed with rocks that had been worn smooth from years of exposure to flooding. There was little chance of that at this season. Being a local, Scootaloo was well aware that it was mainly during the spring that such an event was likely.
Although not jagged, the rocky floor did occasionally slide out from under one, making their passage into the canyon arduous. The sheer rock walls rose up before them like rows of stone sentries on either side of a battle, ready to charge into each other at a moment's notice. The way was lit only by unicorn magic, as the clouds had obscured any natural light source that would have been of help. The shadows they created danced about while the weary soldiers pressed deeper into this place. As the first drops of rain began to fall, the cliff faces that made the walls of the canyon simply stood vigil as they always had.
Scootaloo found herself with too much time to think, and in the near pitch darkness she could almost see Sparklefly. Her last moments were burned into Scootaloo's mind, a sight that wouldn't go away. All joy was lost.
A small fear was growing larger in her mind as well. She hadn't been able to talk about it to anypony yet. Duster didn't know. He walked beside her with his squad, their unicorns helping to light the way. She wondered whether he could suspect what had happened. His sister might have if the situation were reversed. Sparklefly would also have a plan. Scootaloo was just trying to survive the night.
She shuddered, now completely soaked by the rain as she trudged farther into Ghastly Gorge, the weather and terrain impeding their progress. Scootaloo had managed to walk ahead of the rest of the corps, almost to the edge of the pale light that the unicorns were shining ahead for her. The rain had at least done a good job washing the blood from her; it also hid any evidence of tears that might have otherwise shown. In her mind, she could picture Sparklefly walking beside her.
"Well, we're in a fix now," Scootaloo said out loud. The rain didn't let her voice carry to the others that were following behind.
"It's a small matter," she imagined Sparklefly would say.
"I'm not sure how we're going to get out of this one," Scootaloo admitted.
"We'll find a way," came the response from the apparition of thought.
They continued walking on, and for a moment, Scootaloo almost believed that what she imagined were real. Almost.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there. The CAP should have kept you covered."
"It's not your fault; we were under attack all over. There's no way you could have known they'd get that far inside the patrols."
"It's my job to know. Keeping the enemy from surprise attack is exactly what the CAP is for."
"None of us saw it coming. You can't blame yourself."
"That's where you're wrong," Scootaloo said into the rain-soaked air.
Her mind cleared, and nopony was there. A slight commotion caused her to turn back to the advancing ranks of ponies. Flittergear was on the ground.
"Are you alright?" LD asked.
Scootaloo walked back to check.
She was relieved to honestly be able to say, "She's fine."
It was no surprise what had happened considering her condition; Flittergear didn't have any more food, and she simply ran out of energy and passed out.
"LD, Duster, help me get her up.”
They lifted the mare and put her on Scootaloo's back. She wasn't too heavy, but there was little hope that she would recover soon. In the worst case scenario, this was the harbinger of things to come.
“What’s wrong with her?” LD asked.
“I don’t know what it’s called. If she doesn’t eat regularly, she passes out sometimes.”
Even ponies that didn't have Flittergear's deficiency couldn't hold out for long without food, exhausted as they were. Scootaloo was beginning to worry about the scouts she had sent for help. Even at a slow pace, Ponyville would only have been forty minutes away by air, not accounting for the rain. It had already been almost three hours, and no sign of return scouts had yet been seen.
The rain continued pounding away, as if to help drive a certain hopelessness into Scootaloo's core. She didn't know how to get through this but put one hoof in front of another. Somehow, she thought that's what Sparklefly might tell her to do.